1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to optical angle-measuring instruments. More particularly, the invention pertains to a sextant, which includes a handle that is fastened to the body of a limbus.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Optical angle-measuring instruments, both sextants and octants, of the type wherein a handle is fastened to a limbus, serve primarily to determine position by measuring the angle between a remote object, such as a star, and the horizon which is locked onto via a transparent part of a horizon mirror. A precision measurement demands not only experience but also the user's steady hand. It would be desirable to be possible to optimize the user's instrument holding process by accounting for differing physiologies, handling habits and the like. However, in prior angle-measuring instruments of the aforesaid type, the handle is fixed onto the limbus body and in a definite position relative to it.